Spend sufficient time round PC builders and PC constructing boards, and also you’ll study fairly shortly that the route of a case or CPU cooler fan issues. When a fan’s positioned for consumption, the intent is to drag in cool air. However when a fan is about as an exhaust fan, the concept is to expel heat air away from the case or cooler. Each choices are helpful relying on the place the fan resides within the construct.
So how do you inform at a look which method the fan is blowing, particularly when even seasoned PC builders typically take a second to consider it? It’s fairly easy, even when your fan’s producer doesn’t make it explicitly clear.
Search for the arrow
Some case followers (however not all) have an arrow displaying the route of airflow.
Some followers have a small arrow on the casing that point out the route of airflow. Whichever method the arrow factors, that’s the aspect that air will blow towards.
(Yep, it’s that simple.)
Have a look at the fan blades
Not all followers have an arrow—or maybe you’re making an attempt to judge a fan that’s put in in a case or on a CPU cooler and also you don’t need to unmount it to search for an arrow. Thankfully, you don’t want the arrow to inform you the route of airflow. As a substitute, merely have a look at the fan blades.
Blades curving away from you? That’s the consumption aspect.
If the fan blades look rounded—that’s, they’re curving away from you—that’s the consumption aspect. (For the extra technical on the market: The convex aspect of the fan blades is the consumption aspect.)
Fan blades curving towards you? That’s the exhaust aspect.
If the fan blades appear to be the within of a dish or bowl—that’s, they’re curving towards you—that’s the exhaust aspect. (In different phrases, the concave aspect is the place air exhausts.) Oftentimes, the exhaust aspect additionally has the crosshatch helps for the fan’s body, with a round sticker within the heart that lists model and mannequin data.
If attainable, memorizing the fan blade shapes is the very best methodology to find out fan route—you may inform instantly which method the fan is blowing.
Why this issues
As touched on above, the route of a fan issues for airflow. Understanding the way in which it factors will decide the very best locations to mount it, particularly for a case. It additionally ensures you arrange the right airflow configuration in your functions.
Most PCs use optimistic stress to get sufficient cool air passing by the system, which suggests you want extra followers set as consumption than as exhaust. In choose conditions, a builder may as a substitute select a damaging stress setup, the place you’ll want extra followers taking pictures air out of the case than pulling in. Each be certain that your machine isn’t cooking within the scorching air generated by its parts. However when you aren’t taking note of the followers as you put in them (or how the case got here preconfigured), you might find yourself with a unique configuration than meant. Learn our guides on tips on how to set up followers and tips on how to configure followers for optimistic or damaging stress setups to get the complete particulars on optimizing your PC’s cooling.
What fan do you have to use?
An affordable fan will transfer air. So will an costly one. The distinction between them is how loud they get and the way effectively they transfer air. Additionally, how fairly they appear.
That’s to not say you shouldn’t ever spend cash on followers. You possibly can higher optimize the cooling in your case with the kind of fan you select (airflow vs. static stress). Quieter followers (both extra environment friendly or bigger, or each) are simpler to hearken to when their velocity kicks up. And when you’re placing collectively a fancier PC, the fan’s supplies (and lighting choices) can improve your venture’s look.
In case you’d like to interchange your inventory followers, or add some to your construct, you may attempt one of many suggestions beneath. They’re all well-regarded within the PC constructing neighborhood, and the PCWorld employees has constructed with all of them greater than as soon as. After all, our checklist isn’t exhaustive—different implausible choices exist as properly. However these recommendations are a great place to begin.
Arctic P12 PWM 120mm fan (5 pack)
These perennial favorites transfer air properly, are comparatively quiet, and are available a pack of 5 for about $30 to $35. You’ll pay solely $6 to $7 per fan, making them a wonderful purchase given their strong efficiency. (Plus, when you want a much bigger dimension, they arrive in 140mm, too!) Their solely draw back is a lighter, much less premium body—however when you’re constructing a costlier PC the place supplies and appears matter, you most likely aren’t making an attempt to buy in bulk anyway.
be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM (BL039) Cooling Fan
Can’t afford Noctua, however desire a strong performer with a quieter, extra pleasing sound profile? These followers from be quiet! strike a fantastic stability between larger efficiency, strong construct high quality, and affordability. They usually’re less expensive than Noctua’s black followers, which price greater than the corporate’s traditional brown ones. (A 140mm variant can also be accessible.)
Noctua NF-A12x25 120mm fan
At $35 every, these followers price a fairly penny, however they’re nonetheless wildly widespread resulting from excessive efficiency and relative quiet. In case you’re not into the corporate’s signature tan-and-brown colours, you may look into their Chromax line, which provides a extra normal black. If you’d like a unique dimension of fan, or one higher geared towards static stress, Noctua makes these, too—in truth, its array of choices could be downright dizzying—however these are beneficial as the very best all-purpose choice.
Lian Li UNI Fan V2 SL120
Different RGB followers might have bolder lighting, however few can beat the sheer ease of constructing with these Lian Li followers. Usually, utilizing greater than a few RGB followers creates an unholy tangle of cables. These followers daisy-chain collectively within the cleanest method attainable—you bodily hyperlink them collectively, then join simply one of many followers to a controller or your motherboard. We’re followers of the extra delicate, elegant gentle results of those followers, however because the first iteration launched in 2020, different variants have grow to be accessible too. Static stress optimized, airflow optimized, RGB optimized: You need it, you bought it.
Editor’s observe: This text was up to date on 6/28/2023 to incorporate fan suggestions.
